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Calculating Location Quotients

First, you will need to get national employment data for the same year as your base employment year. One easy way to do this is to use the location quotient calculator. Choose your state as the comparison area, and put the data from US Total column of the Percentage of Employment table into your spreadsheet.

Calculate the percentage of total data for each industry using your own region’s employment for that year. (industry employment divided by total employment, times 100)

Then, divide your region’s percentage for an industry by the nation’s percentage for that industry. The corresponding ratio is your location quotient.

Important: Data provided through the location quotient calculate includes only private “ownership” data, while your regional QCEW data may include government “owned” employment as well. Make sure these are consistent before doing the calculation. You can always contact your state’s LMI department for assistance.